HĪNENI HE-ANI MI-MA'AS

HĪNENI HE-ANI MI-MA'AS (Heb. הִנְנִי הֶעָנִי מִמַּעַשׂ; "Behold, I the poor in deeds"), initial words of the silent prayer recited by the ḥazzan before *Musaf on *Rosh Ha-Shanah and the *Day of Atonement, according to the Ashkenazi ritual. In this prayer the ḥazzan confesses his imperfection and prays that he be worthy despite his own shortcomings to be the congregation's delegate to bring its supplications before God. The prayer, of anonymous authorship, originated in Europe during the Middle Ages. In the *Reform ritual main parts from it were chosen as The Rabbi's Prayer, to be recited at his discretion.